Hi all.
I posted a while back about 3 switches one light. Well I have another such setup in my house, old work, and I need some clarification on this one.
I'm posting a diagram of what I followed last time, for reference.
Looking at the wiring in this old work, it looks similar to the diagram, but the difference is: The diagram shows power going to the light, then to the 3-way switch then 4way then the last 3way.
My wiring appears to show the power going to the light and the first switch at the same time, terminating on one end at the light, and then from that 3way on to the 4way and the terminal 3way.
Is this possible? It was a double-gang box with two switches (the other for a porch light), and there was only one hot wire coming in which appeared to pigtail a hot wire to the 3way switch. Anyway, the box was so cluttered with wires (5) that I disassembled it all. If necessary, I can always run a hot line up from the box to the light and then back down to the 3way switch to recreate the attached diagram that I can get my mind around, but I know the switch was working the way it was wired before, so it seems unnecessary.
Why did I mess with it to begin with? In the course of drywall prep, I put in new light boxes (didn't mess with any switches), and when I turned the power back on after the drywall was up, the light was permanently on. Previously this was a ceiling fan and the wire running to it was 14/3. I used that same wire and just ignored the red when I attached my light. From there, I opened up the box to see why the light wouldn't turn off.
To summarize, how could the light be terminal in this 3-4-3 configuration with power going to the first switch and the light at the same time?
I posted a while back about 3 switches one light. Well I have another such setup in my house, old work, and I need some clarification on this one.
I'm posting a diagram of what I followed last time, for reference.
Looking at the wiring in this old work, it looks similar to the diagram, but the difference is: The diagram shows power going to the light, then to the 3-way switch then 4way then the last 3way.
My wiring appears to show the power going to the light and the first switch at the same time, terminating on one end at the light, and then from that 3way on to the 4way and the terminal 3way.
Is this possible? It was a double-gang box with two switches (the other for a porch light), and there was only one hot wire coming in which appeared to pigtail a hot wire to the 3way switch. Anyway, the box was so cluttered with wires (5) that I disassembled it all. If necessary, I can always run a hot line up from the box to the light and then back down to the 3way switch to recreate the attached diagram that I can get my mind around, but I know the switch was working the way it was wired before, so it seems unnecessary.
Why did I mess with it to begin with? In the course of drywall prep, I put in new light boxes (didn't mess with any switches), and when I turned the power back on after the drywall was up, the light was permanently on. Previously this was a ceiling fan and the wire running to it was 14/3. I used that same wire and just ignored the red when I attached my light. From there, I opened up the box to see why the light wouldn't turn off.
To summarize, how could the light be terminal in this 3-4-3 configuration with power going to the first switch and the light at the same time?
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